Yuan Dao: Tracing Dao to Its Source (Classics of Ancient China) (English and Chinese Edition) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345425685 ISBN 13: 9780345425683

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1998

Synopsis

Philosophical and compelling, Yuan Dao is a stunning accomplishment of Daoist literature-- now available for the first time in English

Written around 140 b.c., and presented to a young Chinese Emperor by a beloved uncle--a philosopher, scholar, and patron of the arts--Yuan Dao distills and explains in one remarkable work the first several hundred years of Daoist thought. Drawing from and expanding upon the popular Tao-Te Ching and Chuang-tzu texts, this singular work was written to show the inclusionary aspects of Daoism, that one should appreciate the contribution all things make to the well-being of the whole; Yuan Dao was also created as advice to a ruler, on the beauty of uniting a disparate people under one government without destroying their individuality.

Presented here by two of the world's foremost translators of Chinese classics, this unique edition is the only English-language translation in print and features the Chinese text on facing pages. Insightful and fascinating, here is a glimpse into the early Han Dynasty, and into a way of thinking that has been, and continues to be, characteristically Chinese.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

l and compelling, Yuan Dao is a stunning accomplishment of Daoist literature-- now available for the first time in English

Written around 140 b.c., and presented to a young Chinese Emperor by a beloved uncle--a philosopher, scholar, and patron of the arts--Yuan Dao distills and explains in one remarkable work the first several hundred years of Daoist thought. Drawing from and expanding upon the popular Tao-Te Ching and Chuang-tzu texts, this singular work was written to show the inclusionary aspects of Daoism, that one should appreciate the contribution all things make to the well-being of the whole; Yuan Dao was also created as advice to a ruler, on the beauty of uniting a disparate people under one government without destroying their individuality.

Presented here by two of the world's foremost translators of Chinese classics, this unique edition is the only English-language translation in print and features the Chinese text on facing pages. Insightful and fascinating, here

Reviews

In this masterly and first-ever translation of the Taoist text from the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) known as Yuan Dao, we find a most welcome addition to the corpus in English of Taoist texts. As translated by Lau, noted interpreter of Chinese philosophy, and Ames (Chinese philosophy, Univ. of Hawaii), also a prolific and respected translator and author on Chinese thought, the language is straightforward yet elegant, the rendition true to all the subtlety of the original. Written around 140 B.C.E., Yuan Dao is a direct descendent of the better-known earlier Taoist texts, the Tao Te Ching and the Chuang-Tzu. Its main tenet is the efficacy of accommodation, as described in the translators' erudite introduction, and which is worthy of study in its own right and manages to interweave the essentials of the text with a succinct explanation of Han linguistic and political principles. The translation is printed on facing pages with the Chinese original, further enhancing the utility of the text. An important document, this work will be of interest especially to Sinologists and devotees of Taoism.?D.E. Perushek, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, IL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0345425685
• ISBN 13: 9780345425683
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160